finetune artist: Joe Bataan

b. Bataan Nitollano, 1942, New York City, New York, USA. Although he became noted in the world of Latin music, Bataan's mother was African American and his father Filipino. Bataan started singing in informal doo-wop groups in the streets of Spanish Harlem but fell in with bad elements. At the age of 15 he was sent to a correctional facility following charges connected with car theft. While in prison he began to learn more about music and when he was released in the early 60s turned to music as a career. He had taught himself to play piano and in the mid-60s formed his own band, in which he was lead singer. Unusually, Bataan did not follow the current patterns in pop but chose instead to develop a distinctive variation on boogaloo, a style that blended orthodox Latin pop with R&B and had been labelled as Latin soul. Previous performers in this vein included Hctor Rivera and early Tito Puente. Bataan enjoyed success with records such as "Gypsy Woman" for which he rewrote his original Spanish lyrics in an English variation. Among other successful records were "Ordinary Guy", "Poor Boy" and "Riot!", while "Rap-O-Clap-O", recorded with Arthur Baker in 1979 and which sold well in Europe, has been sold by some as an early example of rap. In addition to his performing career, Bataan also produced a few albums by others for Ghetto Records, while some of his own recordings were released on his own Salsoul Records.

Listen to Joe Bataan at Finetune.

Chick-A-Boom
Ordinary Guy